I am so excited to have Hannah Hood Lucero on the blog for a book spotlight! Her book, The Glory of Light, is a fast-paced military romantic suspense with a twisty plot, entwining the love at first sight romance.
HANNAH HOOD LUCERO is a wife, mom of three, Army veteran, and self-proclaimed word-slinger. While it is the brackish waters of the Mississippi Sound that flow through her veins, western North Carolina holds her heart. Her love for storytelling is the fruit of a lifetime of cultivation in the vibrant cultures of the Gulf Coast and the Blue Ridge Mountains. She currently resides in South Mississippi with her husband and three children on their ten-acre homestead. They have a dog, thirteen chickens, and at least fifty species of mosquitos, depending on the month of the year. When she isn’t in the garden, at the stove, or homeschooling, she can be found at her computer—just follow the sound of frenetic typing. Her motto is, “Draft, edit, read, repeat.”
1) What first sparked your passion for storytelling, and how has your journey as a writer evolved over time?
I grew up loving stories. My mom read books like The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings aloud to us—quite a labor of love. My pawpaw sang “diddies” all the time. He could whistle and play harmonica and told the most hilarious stories through his songs. When I was a preteen, I tried to write down the story of my first love…which was promptly abandoned after three chapters.
The moment when I first thought, “I could really write something that other people would like too…” was in my tenth grade English class. We were wrapping up a unit on open-ended stories. You know the ones where there’s a fighter in the center of the arena and he’s won his battle, but his life is in the hands of a crass king who may or may not care what his people are cheering for? A thumbs up results in the fighter’s freedom. A thumbs down opens the gate with the tiger behind it. And then, the story just ends. You have to guess what the king decided. It’s torture.
Coach Patrick Chapman made us all write our own open-ended stories. I wrote about a girl riding bareback on a beautiful mustang, racing through the forest as wolved chased them. They came to the edge of a cliff and had to decide between facing the wolves or jumping off the cliff into a rushing river. I know what I would choose, but my readers had to guess at the ending. Coach Chapman stopped me after class and said, “Hannah, you have to tell me what happened. I can’t take it…”
That’s the seed that took a good twenty years to mature. I finally got the courage to write a full story in my mid-thirties. And then I just kept repeating the process!
2) Who are some of your favorite Christian authors, and how have they influenced your work?
This isn’t a fair question! There are way too many to list and we could be here all day discussing it. Jennifer Q. Hunt and Heather Wood and my editors and made me love historical fiction like I hadn’t known I could. Megan Soja and Jamie Ogle have really grown that love more recently. My other auto-buy authors are Latisha Sexton, Carrie Cotten, B.R. Goodwin, JJ Samie Myles, Drew Taylor, Storm Shultz, Molly Barlowe, and Tawni Suchy. There are so many more, but these are the ladies who I’ve also been most influenced by in my writing. All of them use elements of faith, suspense, and romance that I also strive to include in my stories.
3) What character do you see yourself the most in and why?
Another tough one. Evans Sutton from my debut novel, Cathey’s Creek Road, is the teenager I wish I had been. She’s got the same job and friendships that I had, but she’s way more mature than I was at her age. I think most authors write themselves into the first FMC. That being said, my mom would tell you that Randee Carter from my more recent book, Battle Charged, is the character most like me. I haven’t faced all the same trials and losses as her, but my life has definitely been a less dramatic parallel to her story. I did include the same sort of ending (an unwanted medical discharge) to her military career that I had. And though I didn’t lose a baby the way she did, I have suffered loss and debilitating guilt through a failed adoption. Battle Charged was the book I struggled the most to write, and I agree with my mom’s assessment that it’s because I put so much of myself into it.
4) Who would you cast as Iris Sullivan in a movie?
Hands down, it would be Isabel May. I’ve only seen one movie of hers—Run Hide Fight—from DailyWire+. She played a student who fights back during a school shooting. It’s not an easy movie to watch, but she played a character who had her own demons to battle even before she was put into a terrifying scenario—and through all of it, she had an unconquerable spirit. The entire time I was writing Iris, it was Isabel that I saw in my mind.
5) Who would you cast as Barrett Jones in a movie?
You would think I’d have an answer for this after the last question, but I do not. I really don’t know. It’s rare for me to picture real people when I’m writing my characters. In fact, Iris Sullivan may be the only one I’ve done that with. I’m open to suggestions.
6) What do you hope readers get out of The Glory of Light?
Is it cheesy to say that I hope they see how darkness declares the glory of light? The title was very intentional. The world has been filled with darkness since the day sin made an entrance. However, it’s sometimes easy to turn a blind eye and hope it just goes away. I remember when I was a kid, the stories of demon possession were only told by people who’d been on mission trips overseas. You didn’t hear about things like that happening in America. I’m sure it was happening here, but I didn’t hear about it back then. It’s not like that anymore. Darkness is boldly moving in our country, and I think it’s important to speak just as boldly about truth and light. I wanted to be honest about things like Islam and the underbelly of New Orleans culture, but not in an abrasive way. I wanted to show that there is no good in the ideologies that draw their power from death and destruction, but the people who practice Islam and witchcraft aren’t necessarily beyond redemption. I hope I did a good job with it.
7) What’s your favorite scene or moment in the book, and why does it hold special meaning for you?
This is a toss-up between the debates that happened in the classroom at Tulane and the epilogue. I loved showing opposing viewpoints on hot topics and having the ability to debunk some of the lies people believe because of false narratives pushed in our media and culture. But I love how much the epilogue means to my readers. There’s a moment when Iris declares war on the darkness surrounding someone she loves. I didn’t realize it would resonate so much with people.
8) Do you plan to write spinoff books for any characters?
Yes and no! The Missionary and the Marine (Walters and Nadia’s story) has already been published by Brave Author Books. It’s part of a three-novella collection about the value of human life. You can find Every Life Treasured on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble, and probably a lot of other places. Sanchez shows up in Battle Charged. I’m undecided on a full-length novel for him. Iris has already made a cameo in Crimson Sands by JJ Samie Myles, and she pops up again in my upcoming (May) release, Ashes to Ashes.
9) How do you celebrate the completion of a book, and what does that milestone mean to you?
Oh, I forever have big plans for an epic release party! I’m ten books in and it has still never happened. The first few releases were surreal. I was definitely in the “I can’t believe I did this” stage. Now, I’m mostly just relieved and grateful to see one more project successfully completed. Release days can be overwhelming. It’s incredible and humbling to see the support on social media, but also emotionally and mentally exhausting because I don’t want to miss a single post or opportunity to thank someone who took the time to share about my book…ya know? I struggle with being on social media all day long for two to three days straight, but it’s a part of the process that can’t be neglected. I just know that there needs to be time for hibernation the week after a release. And I won’t turn down Mexican food if someone offers to take me out to a celebratory dinner. HA!
10) What do you enjoy most about connecting with readers, and what feedback has resonated deeply with you?
My favorite part of this entire author life is when someone tells me they relate to one of my characters or that one of my stories helped them through a difficult season in their life. I think every author hopes their stories will be loved or at the very least enjoyed. It really hits different when someone says they were brought to tears, convicted of a sin in their life, or given hope because of words I didn’t know they’d one day need to read in a context that changed their perspective. That’s by far the most rewarding part of writing.
Thank you so much for having me on and letting me share about my writing and characters.
He’s had everything handed to him. She built her life from nothing.
From growing up on the treacherous streets of New Orleans to being captured by terrorists in Syria, there’s not much Iris Sullivan hasn’t faced in her twenty-six years. When a mysterious operative asks for her help countering a growing threat on the home front, Iris heads to unfamiliar circles in the all-too-familiar city that shattered her carefree childhood and built her unconquerable spirit.
Barrett Jones was the life of the party until news of his twin brother’s death upended his picture-perfect life. Junior year at Tulane and an intriguing new classmate offer a distraction from his grief until Barrett discovers his own connection to the scandals and secrets surrounding Jonny’s death. Can he unravel the web of lies that destroyed his brother before it ensnares the woman he loves as well?
Will the darkness of the past destroy Iris and Barrett’s future, or will they breach their differences and fight together for the light of truth that can set them free?
Make sure to follow Hannah Hood Lucero on Social Media:
Website: https://www.hannahhoodlucero.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannah.hood.lucero
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannah.hood.lucero/
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